Private equity firms could be beginning to circle over Ubisoft. Talks are early, but include interest from firms like Blackstone Inc. and KKR & Co. Many believe the company will eventually sell to someone amid a flagging stock price and ongoing production struggles.
Bloomberg reports that Blackstone and KKR & Co., the two biggest private equity firms in the world, have been “studying the French business,” and have “preliminary takeover interest” in Ubisoft, but that the company hasn’t yet entered into “any serious negotiations with potential acquirers.”
Sources say Ubisoft has been working closely with several outside consultancy firms in recent years to audit various parts of its business. While companies will do this to become more profitable and prepare for the future, sources suggest it’s a sign Ubisoft’s trying to tidy up its books for a potential sale.
If someone did want to buy Ubisoft, they would be potentially getting it at a huge discount. The stock was over $110 a share in July 2018. Now it’s at $41. But they would still need to go through the Guillemot family, which is currently estimated to own 15% of the just under $5 billion market cap business.
Ubisoft has been hit by an ongoing wave of attrition among its senior talent. It continues to struggle with the aftermath of a workplace reckoning over sexual misconduct that began in the summer of 2020. And some of its biggest projects continue to face upheaval, delays, or be trapped in development hell.
(All information was provided by Kotaku)
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